West Ham jumped into the Champions League places after a brilliant win over city rivals Crystal Palace. The Hammers went behind early on to a Wilfried Zaha goal but fought back fantastically. A brace from Tomas Soucek and a goal from Craig Dawson were enough for the win.
The victory over Palace means that the club is in the top four places and that they have won six games on the bounce in all competitions. David Moyes’ side have won their last four in the Premier League and every game they have played in 2021.
Pre Match Build-up
There was a lot of buzz amongst West Ham fans before the game. It appeared as though the club were closing in on the signing of Jesse Lingard. There was also the news that the Hammers were going to make Said Benrahma‘s loan deal permanent. The Algerian had an obligation to make his loan permanent, but it has been brought forward to facilitate the deal for Lingard.
In terms of the team, Moyes made seven changes to the side that thrashed Doncaster in the FA Cup on the weekend. Amongst these changes, Declan Rice reclaimed the armband as Mark Noble dropped out of the starting eleven. Star striker, Michail Antonio, also returned to lead the line for the Hammers.
The win for West Ham meant that they leapfrogged Everton, Tottenham and Liverpool into the Champions League spots.
There was also a spot on the bench for highly-rated young forward Ademipo Obudeko. The striker was expected to play against Doncaster but due to COVID reasons was unable to play.
Match Report
Crystal Palace started the game the sharper of the two. Probably due to their eight-day rest. After forcing the Hammers into their own half Zaha and Christian Benteke linked up well. Zaha then fired the Eagles ahead with a driven effort from 20-yards out. There was little Lukasz Fabianski could do as the shot was so well placed.
The lead didn’t last long, though. Soucek headered West Ham level in the 8th minute. Pablo Fornals played a brilliant lobbed through ball for Antonio. The striker then looped the ball into the six-yard box. Soucek had timed his run perfectly and finished the chance off perfectly.
After the early flurry of goals, the match started to take shape. Palace were trying to hit West Ham on the counter-attack. The Hammers, however, were controlling the majority of possession. Both sides were struggling to create any clear chances as they searched for the lead.
That was until the 24th minute. Antonio won a freekick for the Hammers 40-yards out from goal. Aaron Cresswell floated in a dangerous ball. Soucek got to the ball first, controlled it with his knee and then volleyed past Vicente Guaita. There was a VAR check on the goal, but nothing undoing was found as West Ham completed the comeback.
Antonio within 20 seconds of the restart almost doubled the lead. Former Hammer Cheikou Kouyate misplaced a pass, and the Englishman latched onto the ball. Antonio fired a low shot from 20-yards past Guaita. The shot, however, rattled the inside of the post and was cleared.
West Ham continued to threaten through Soucek. The Czech midfielder had a chance to complete a first-half hattrick. After picking up the ball 40-yards out. Soucek drove at the Palace goal and fired a shot goalwards. The effort lacked power and was saved by Guaita.
As the first half approached the end, West Ham spurned another chance to kill the game off. Fornals dummied the ball for Cresswell. The defender hammered the ball off-target, but Antonio was able to get a touch on the ball. The deflection looked to put the ball in the net; instead, the striker hit the post again.
Second Half
Palace had a glorious chance to pull themselves level after a mistake in the Hammers backline. Eberechi Eze played Zaha through on goal. The Palace talisman was one-on-one with Fabianski, but it was the keeper to come out on top and preserve West Ham’s lead.
The home side continued to dominate the match during the early stages of the second half. The Hammers were defending well and limiting their chances. Moyes’ side were venturing forward but weren’t able to create anything meaningful.
Benrahma did create a great chance for the Hammers to double their lead. The Algerian hit the byline and fired in a dangerous cross. Antonio got his head on the ball, forcing a great save from Guaita. Benrahma tried to convert the rebound but too was denied by the keeper.
The Hammers started to threaten continuously after the hour mark. Antonio had a chance blocked, and Guaita kept a deflection out. The third goal did come through a set-piece. Jarrod Bowen whipped in a cross, and Dawson lost his marker. The Englishman masked his header passed Guaita to double the lead.
West Ham had their tails up after the goal and almost scored again. Rice played a deep cross to Vladimir Coufal. The Czech’s shot was going wide but straight into the path of Antonio. Similar to his earlier chance, he got a touch on the ball but couldn’t hit the target.
As the game entered the final twenty minutes, Palace pushed forward trying to get themselves back into the game. The Eagles were looking threatening but were unable t break down a resilient Hammers defence.
Palace continued to press, trying to find a goal that would cause a grand-slam finish. James McArthur and Zaha went close from range. The Eagles just could make a clear cut chance on the Hammers goal.
Palace did get themselves a consultation right at the end of the game. Substitute Michy Batsuyhai slotted past Fabianski after some good play. The goal was the final action of the game as West Ham claimed all three points.
Man Of The Match – Tomas Soucek
The Czech midfielder was imperial across the park against Palace. Soucek was key to breaking down the Eagles attacks and disrupting their flow. Not only did The 25-year-old add to the Hammers defence but of course he grabbed two fantastic goals.
The goals started and completed the comeback for West ham at Selhurst Park. Soucek is now the leading scoring in the Premier League for the Hammers with 7 goals after his brace.
West Ham will be keeping an eye out on the games tomorrow to see where they are in the table. Next up for the Hammers is a return to the London Stadium to take on fellow top-four contenders Liverpool.